uneasydaz
Well-Known Member
The British are renowned for their ability to form neat, orderly queues. But the need for such patience might soon be history.
Manchester City, champions of the Premier League, are trying out technology by which fans will gain access to the stadium simply by showing their faces.
The team have hired Blink Identity, based in Texas, to deploy facial-recognition systems in a pilot scheme. To start with there will be a single super-fast lane for supporters at the 55,000-seat Etihad stadium.
A face scan will reveal whether the fan has a ticket. The lane is expected to operate a traffic light system: green for go, yellow for stop. There is no need for a turnstile.
Its designers say the technology is so speedy that fans could run past scanners at the rate of 50 per minute
To sign up, fans need to take a selfie on their mobile phone and register it.
Mary Haskett, Blink Identity’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “If you are standing in line, you’re not having fun or having a good time.”
Facial recognition would also help the venue commercially, she added. “A game only lasts so long, and your ability to sell food and beverages and T-shirts is limited to that time. So if you can get them in faster, it makes everybody happy.”
The system could end the practice of ticket-swapping and the use of season ticket hand-me-downs.
Other large events such as music festivals would benefit, said Haskett. “Any time people are waiting in line, we can make that go away.”
Manchester City’s Chester and District supporters’ club welcomed the move. “There are problems with queuing at the Etihad and sometimes you can even miss the start of the game,” a spokesman said.
Privacy campaigners will not be so sanguine. Big Brother Watch has warned of an “epidemic” of facial recognition use in shopping centres, museums and conference centres around the UK.
•Two police forces said by the Home Office to have agreed to help test facial recognition have denied doing so. West Midlands and Kent police are resisting the introduction of such systems, The Observer said.
Manchester City, champions of the Premier League, are trying out technology by which fans will gain access to the stadium simply by showing their faces.
The team have hired Blink Identity, based in Texas, to deploy facial-recognition systems in a pilot scheme. To start with there will be a single super-fast lane for supporters at the 55,000-seat Etihad stadium.
A face scan will reveal whether the fan has a ticket. The lane is expected to operate a traffic light system: green for go, yellow for stop. There is no need for a turnstile.
Its designers say the technology is so speedy that fans could run past scanners at the rate of 50 per minute
To sign up, fans need to take a selfie on their mobile phone and register it.
Mary Haskett, Blink Identity’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “If you are standing in line, you’re not having fun or having a good time.”
Facial recognition would also help the venue commercially, she added. “A game only lasts so long, and your ability to sell food and beverages and T-shirts is limited to that time. So if you can get them in faster, it makes everybody happy.”
The system could end the practice of ticket-swapping and the use of season ticket hand-me-downs.
Other large events such as music festivals would benefit, said Haskett. “Any time people are waiting in line, we can make that go away.”
Manchester City’s Chester and District supporters’ club welcomed the move. “There are problems with queuing at the Etihad and sometimes you can even miss the start of the game,” a spokesman said.
Privacy campaigners will not be so sanguine. Big Brother Watch has warned of an “epidemic” of facial recognition use in shopping centres, museums and conference centres around the UK.
•Two police forces said by the Home Office to have agreed to help test facial recognition have denied doing so. West Midlands and Kent police are resisting the introduction of such systems, The Observer said.
